


the shadows on my wall don't sleep

by i_was_human



Category: Lost in Translation (Webcomic)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I just..., Multiple Personalities, No beta we die like mne, Past Torture, Sharing a Body, Soul Bond, Werewolves, gently bapped dae with the whump stick, i tag what i want
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28004319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_was_human/pseuds/i_was_human
Summary: His entire life has been decided by the wolf - doing guitar, learning to sing, auditioning for HCE - and he wants out....but then again, he's wanted out since he was ten, hasn't he?And nothing changed then.Nothing's going to change now.Nothing's ever going to change.
Relationships: Kang Dongho | D.Min & Kim Daehyun, Kang Dongho | D.Min & Kim Daehyun & Lee Minsoo, Kang Dongho | D.Min & Lee Minsoo
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7
Collections: Lost in Translation Fic Discord Secret Santa





	the shadows on my wall don't sleep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JamlessGenius](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamlessGenius/gifts).



> prompt: 
> 
> Werewolf au where one of the members is a hunter who has been tortured and brainwashed into thinking they’re doing the right thing and is sent on a mission to kill another member who recognizes him as a werewolf. Chaos ensues.

In Daehyun's opinion, there are few things more toxic than a values gap.

Or, well, toxic isn't really the right word. It is in the sense that it's _aching_ , gnawing and tearing at his core with bloodied wolf teeth, but it's not toxic in the way many people would consider it.

People would probably call this _dangerous_.

Daehyun doesn't know what he'd call it.

He's heard of gaps like this before - gaps between a werewolf's human and wolf form - but he has to be one of the only people on the planet with two completely separate consciouses, which...

great?

Being unique is great and all, but he'd _really_ like to be able to exist without his wolf _howling_ in his mind.

He tucks his feet under his thighs, exhaling as he stares up at his ceiling. _God_ would it be nice to debut - though he doubts he'll ever be able to, seeing as he has the whole _wolf thing_ \- but he can dream, right?

Right.

His phone buzzes next to him, and he turns, picking up the device and thumbing it open. And _oh_ -

_**HQ** _  
_Sol._  
_Your next target has been chosen._

And _god_ , does Daehyun wish he never went to that school. _God_ does he wish he never spent three years of his life there, _god_ does he wish he never got bitten by that wolf, _god_ does he wish that the creature living inside him didn't have fur stained red and a body count in the hundreds.

But the past is the past, and besides-

Daehyun's always been the weaker of them, anyways.

He stares down at the photo in front of him, taking in the dark hair, slanted eyes, and faint smile, and it takes him _far_ too long to realize who this is.

_**HQ**  
Your next target is the Kang's heir.  
I expect this mission to be completed.  
Am I understood?_

Something inside him snaps, and Daehyun's slipping into a backseat, shoved out of his own body just like every other time a mission comes in.

But this-

this is _Dongho-hyung_.

This is his smart and strong and skilled hyung, his hyung who stays after to help him and who buys him lunch and who checks up on him when he's sick, and Daehyun can't just-

 _"Enough,"_ the wolf snarls, and Daehyun quiets his mind, trying to pretend like he's not crying on the inside.

It fools nobody.

But the wolf - cruel as he is - holds his tongue, and so Daehyun sobs, silent and weak and broken, because _Dongho is going to die, and there is nothing he can do about it_.

* * *

His first opening comes two days after the assignment.

Dongho notices he's struggling with the new choreography and offers to stay after to help him, and Daehyun's abruptly shoved to the side as the wolf takes over, a lilt seeping into his voice as he replies.

"Ah- thank you, hyungie! You really don't have to, though."

"Don't worry about it," Dongho replies, and _oh_ , there's a hint of wariness in his voice.

_"Don't-"_

_"Shut up,"_ the wolf snarls, and Daehyun falls silent as the monster beams, skipping over to grab his bag and sling it over his shoulder.

"Really? Thank you, hyungie~!"

 _"Why are you doing this?"_ Daehyun begs, and the wolf internally rolls his eyes, their body trotting after Dongho with a saccharine grin firmly in place.

_"You know why."_

_"But- but he's Dongho-hyung! He's our friend!"_

_"He's a monster,"_ the wolf easily replies, stepping a bit closer to Dongho as they head for the break room. _"He deserves to die."_

And Daehyun holds his tongue, fighting back the tears even as he snaps into control once more, because _he does not want Dongho to die_ , but his wolf is laughing in the back of his mind, and _fuck_ if it isn't the most horrific foregone conclusion, and-

 _no_.

It's not foregone.

He can do something.

"ActuallyIthinkI'mbusytonight!"

Dongho stops, turning to stare at him, and Daehyun nearly shrieks as the wolf howls in his mind, _pain_ shooting through his skull and back as the monster threatens to emerge.

_No, no, no-no-no-_

Keep it hidden.

Keep him safe.

"You're busy?" Dongho slowly replies, and Daehyun nods, forcing a grin (though it comes out more as a pained wince than anything else).

"I forgot there's an event on my game...! So I can't do tonight!"

 _"You coward!"_ the wolf shrieks, and Daehyun bites his tongue as fresh pain lances through his skull, something warm seeping into his hair.

Fuck.

He's going to shift in the middle of the hallway.

"Alright," Dongho edges, stuffing his hands in his pocket. "Another time, maybe."

"Aha... sure!"

The warm thing drips down to the side of his face, and he power-walks towards the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him and collapsing against the sink. The porcelain is cool against his burning face, and he kneels there for a moment, trying to remember how to breathe.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

He raises his head, and _oh_ , that's the wolf staring back at him.

Blond wolf ears, amber eyes, a fluffy tail, _sharp canines_ -

He may look almost cuddly, but Daehyun can never see him as anything other than a murderer.

"You can't kill him," Daehyun breathes, and his wolf snarls, lips pulling back to expose more of his canines.

"You _don't get to choose that_."

"He's my friend!"

The sentence bounces around the room, leaving a distant echo in its wake, and the wolf laughs, pushing strands of blond hair out of his face.

Daehyun doesn't know why his wolf's hair is blond while his is black, doesn't know why his cheeks are slim while his are chubby, doesn't know why his wolf _is better than him_ , but it aches nonetheless.

Because-

he really is just the host for his wolf, isn't he?

 _Fuck_ , his entire _life_ has been decided by the wolf - doing guitar, learning to sing, auditioning for HCE - and he _wants out_.

...but then again, he's wanted out since he was ten, hasn't he?

And nothing changed then.

Nothing's going to change now.

Nothing's _ever_ going to change.

_"You don't get a say in this, Daehyunnie."_

And the wolf is smiling, and Daehyun steps back, but he's falling down, down, down-

* * *

"Yo'w wowwied ab't Dae'?"

"Swallow your food first," Dongho chastises, turning his attention back to his phone. "And yeah, I am."

"Why?" Minsoo asks, leaning over to stare at him. "What's wrong?"

Like this, Dongho can see their bond-mark just over his collarbone - a faint silver swirl - and he sighs, resting his chin on his hand.

God, he never should've dragged Minsoo into this. He should've just left the city that weekend like he planned, but he stayed home, and Minsoo found him and now they're stuck like _this_.

This being: Dongho's bound to his _human_ best friend, and now Minsoo has to come and talk to him while he's shifting because he had the bright idea to hug the bigass wolf, and-

anyways.

Minsoo's a dumbfuck. That's not new news.

"So you know how Dae's a werewolf?" Dongho asks, and Minsoo nods, taking another bite of his sandwich. "...I don't think he's really stable."

"Li'e you?" Minsoo mumbles around a mouthful of cheese, and Dongho sighs, flicking Minsoo's forehead. "Owf!"

"Swallow," Dongho repeats, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "And kind of. What happened to me was because of my family, while what's happening to Dae is..."

"Worse?" Minsoo supplies, and Dongho shakes his head, trying to find the words.

"It's... hn..."

"Trauma?" Minsoo fills in, and Dongho nods, oddly grateful for the neural link.

"I've seen it once or twice before. Mostly in kids that went to this fucked-up werewolf 'school'. We'd have to haul them off the streets and lock them up for their own safety - and those were the ones that _didn't_ go on killing sprees."

"What's wrong with them?"

"Their wolf disconnected from their conscious," Dongho replies, and Minsoo nods, resting his chin on his hand. "It's like a second and _very traumatized_ personality."

"...what'd they do to them?"

"You don't wanna know."

Truth be told, Dongho can't imagine anything other than being both. The idea that he could be _just_ human or _just_ wolf is... oddly horrifying to him, and not just because of the horror stories.

No - they almost separated once, and he'd _really_ rather not do that again.

"So, you think Dae went to that school?" Minsoo asks, and Dongho sighs, staring down at his phone.

"I don't know, Min."

God, he hopes not.

He really, really hopes not.

* * *

Over the next few days, Daehyun's strength wanes further and further.

His wolf's mostly taken control, growing even stronger as the full moon approaches (despite his never-ending bitching about the limits of Daehyun's human form) and Daehyun barely manages to stop him from killing Dongho - though each time it's met with less and less success.

Someday soon his wolf is going to win, and Daehyun-

he doesn't know what that'll look like.

His hands ache from holding silver blades, and the old scars throb all the more as the full moon draws nearer, the ghosts of thousands of moonstruck weapons haunting him every time he shuts his eyes.

And _still_ his wolf believes he's doing the right thing.

Why?

How can he believe he's doing the right thing when _someone has to die_?

It's _different_ when it's strangers - and that's a truth Daehyun hates to acknowledge - but now it's _Dongho_ , Dongho, his hyung, his _friend_ , and Daehyun _can't let him die_.

...he'll fight until his very last breath. Even if the Daehyun Dongho knows is almost entirely the wolf, even if Daehyun himself has little to no control and hasn't since he was thirteen, _even if it kills him_ , he'll fight.

He won't let his wolf kill Dongho.

The moon dips under the horizon, and the wolf crawls into bed, the rough fabric of Daehyun's hoodie chafing his skin. 

Tomorrow's the full moon.

(Daehyun doesn't think he can come back from this.)

* * *

Call him selfish, but Minsoo _loves_ the full moon.

Granted, this is mostly because he can ride a bigass wolf, but _still_.

He grips fistfuls of Dongho's fur as his best friend hurtles through the woods, gleaming white coat a shining beacon amidst the trees. It's _incredible_ , being like this - the wind rushing through his hair and their shared euphoria filling their bond - and he'd be lying if he didn't say he loved it.

Dongho rushes towards their lookout perch, paws pounding against the earth-

and stops.

Minsoo shrieks, scrambling for purchase on Dongho's furry back, and the wolf growls, low and threatening and _feral_.

 _"Hyung?"_ Minsoo questions, and Dongho shakes his head, lips pulled back to reveal _deadly sharp teeth_.

_"Danger. This wolf is bad."_

The wolf stalks forwards, and Minsoo stares as the moonlight throws it into sharp relief. It's golden and white, all but shining in the faint light, and as Minsoo stares, he realizes there's something familiar about it.

"Dae?"

The wolf growls, and Dongho takes a step back, fur bristling with a combination of rage and fear.

 _"Minsoo. Get off_."

As soon as he scrambles off Dongho's back, the wolf leaps forwards, slamming into Dongho's shoulders and scoring its claws down his arm. Dongho twists around to nip at him, and the wolf nearly slashes him across the face before Dongho twists out of the way, slamming his head into the animal's chest and sending it crashing to the ground.

_"Minsoo! Weapons!"_

Minsoo turns, panic flooding his mind, and he catches sight of a satchel leaning against the tree, its buckle gleaming in the dim light. He stumbles closer, flicking it open and withdrawing a _fucking handgun_ , and his mind goes into overdrive at the sight, panic multiplying until he's not sure if what he's feeling is his or Dongho's.

A howl rings through the air, and Dongho stumbles to his paws, red smeared over his white fur and lips pulled back.

_"Shoot his arm! Now!"_

Minsoo points the gun, closes his eyes, and fires.

* * *

"...ae!"

What...?

"...ae...un...!"

Where is he?

"...'s not... up...!"

Why is it so quiet?

"...in... arm!"

Where is his wolf?

"...me the...!"

Why does everything hurt?

"...aehyun...!"

Who's calling for him?

 _Pain_ shoots through his arm and he _screams_ , thrashing wildly in whoever's arms are encaging him. Someone reaches up to pet his hair, their fingers threading through his dirty locks, and he _wails_ , trying to twist away from the pain or make it stop or lessen or _anything_.

"Stop!" he wails, and he can distantly feel something hot pouring down his cheeks. "Pl-Please-"

Something gently nudges his mind, then - not a harsh shove like the wolf, but rather something closer to the nudge of a puppy - and delirious as he is, he welcomes it.

_"...an you hear me?"_

_"I'm getting you."_

_"Yeah, well, you're not Dae. Dae-yah, can you hear me?"_

Min... soo?

_"Hyung...?"_

_Relief_ washes over him, powerful and sweeping and _raw_ , and he feels weightless for a moment until the scent of pine and oranges fills his nose.

Oh.

Oh, this is nice.

 _"You're gonna be okay,"_ Dongho murmurs, and Daehyun sobs, curling into his hyung's chest, and _everything fucking hurts_ but it's okay because Dongho's here.

Dongho can make this better.

 _"Please don't let him come back,"_ he begs, and his hyungs go very, very silent for a moment. _"Please."_

 _"...he won't come back,"_ Minsoo finally tells him, and Daehyun nods, surrendering to the siren's song of unconsciousness.

For the first time in years, he has a nice dream.

* * *

"What are we going to do?"

Minsoo rubs his collarbone as he stares down at the boy in the bed, eyes flickering with a combination of pain and pity. He doesn't need to move his hand - Dongho knows a golden swirl curls around his own silver one - and that _terrifies him_.

The fact that they're bound to someone so unstable-

it scares him more than it should.

He takes a seat by Daehyun's bedside, pushing the kid's hair back from his face, and _god_ , he's young, expression scrunched up in pain and chubby cheeks pliant when Dongho pokes them. 

He's too young to be dealing with this.

"We'll stay with him," Minsoo decides, reaching out to grasp Daehyun's hand. "Right?"

"Right," Dongho agrees, taking Daehyun's other hand in his. "Of course we will."

After all, Daehyun's still their friend - even if his wolf was taking control. He's still their friend, even if his shoulder is bandaged from a silver bullet and his mind is split in two.

He's still their friend, and Kang Dongho _does not_ abandon his friends.

The two of them doze off there that night, Daehyun's hands clasped in theirs, and things might not be okay yet, but at least they know what _isn't_.

And that's a perfect place to start, isn't it?

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed!!! feel free to comment with any further questions and i'd be happy to answer


End file.
